Hacking Up Cake
OK, apologies for that post title, but I couldn't resist ...because it's literally true.
The Red Velvet "muslin" is growing on me, especially after seeing pics of me in it vs. just sticking it on Zillie to model. And I'm not about to NOT get a wearable something out of this pattern since I'm already pretty close. So, yes ... I'm making another one, which will be virtually the same but with some pattern hacking and a much thinner black knit for the skirt to eliminate the unneeded bulk.
Heather asked about the black/white color scheme chosen and if I was changing my stance on not wearing black. The real answer is simply that I was shopping my stash. But yes, I'm relaxing on the black aversion a bit and do wear it now, but always paired with a print. Plus, black in an office setting is always acceptable. Right Carolyn? :-)
I cut the new pieces tonight, eliminating the back pleat in a slapdash hack and kicking the facings to the curb. I also removed 1-1/2" from the midriff band and will baste to see if that's enough, and I added 5/8" to the bodice length. On the plus side of all this, it's a very fast pattern to cut.
I want to thank all of you for your comments over the last few days' posts. I spent a LOT of hours on those posts and the review, and I must be honest and tell you that it's very rewarding to know you're out there reading and interacting. I do have one more post in me which will also be related to all of this, but I'm kinda burned out on writing at the moment so I'll let that one percolate in my head a little longer before I commit it to typed words. And I'll get to the off-blog emails soon too.
Oh, and before I turn off the lappie for the night ... Amanda asked what stitch I use for knits instead of the lightning stitch. Many experts and everyday sewists recommend using a slight zigzag for sewing knits, but honestly ... I just use a straight stitch, with a stretch needle, and my machine on its knit setting. Of course, your mileage may vary and so will your machine. I think the best advice is to test on knit samples or even wearable muslins and come up with what works best for YOU! By the way, the reasons I hate the lightning stitch are it can easily eat and/or warp your fabric because it's so thread dense and even worse, it can be extremely tedious to rip out ... which is why I think newbies and first-pattern sews are better served with a different stitch.
Nighty-night!
(And Ronda, thanks for thinking of me and waiting 'til late Friday for that MTC. It was waiting for me bright and early this morning.)
The Red Velvet "muslin" is growing on me, especially after seeing pics of me in it vs. just sticking it on Zillie to model. And I'm not about to NOT get a wearable something out of this pattern since I'm already pretty close. So, yes ... I'm making another one, which will be virtually the same but with some pattern hacking and a much thinner black knit for the skirt to eliminate the unneeded bulk.
Heather asked about the black/white color scheme chosen and if I was changing my stance on not wearing black. The real answer is simply that I was shopping my stash. But yes, I'm relaxing on the black aversion a bit and do wear it now, but always paired with a print. Plus, black in an office setting is always acceptable. Right Carolyn? :-)
I cut the new pieces tonight, eliminating the back pleat in a slapdash hack and kicking the facings to the curb. I also removed 1-1/2" from the midriff band and will baste to see if that's enough, and I added 5/8" to the bodice length. On the plus side of all this, it's a very fast pattern to cut.
I want to thank all of you for your comments over the last few days' posts. I spent a LOT of hours on those posts and the review, and I must be honest and tell you that it's very rewarding to know you're out there reading and interacting. I do have one more post in me which will also be related to all of this, but I'm kinda burned out on writing at the moment so I'll let that one percolate in my head a little longer before I commit it to typed words. And I'll get to the off-blog emails soon too.
Oh, and before I turn off the lappie for the night ... Amanda asked what stitch I use for knits instead of the lightning stitch. Many experts and everyday sewists recommend using a slight zigzag for sewing knits, but honestly ... I just use a straight stitch, with a stretch needle, and my machine on its knit setting. Of course, your mileage may vary and so will your machine. I think the best advice is to test on knit samples or even wearable muslins and come up with what works best for YOU! By the way, the reasons I hate the lightning stitch are it can easily eat and/or warp your fabric because it's so thread dense and even worse, it can be extremely tedious to rip out ... which is why I think newbies and first-pattern sews are better served with a different stitch.
Nighty-night!
(And Ronda, thanks for thinking of me and waiting 'til late Friday for that MTC. It was waiting for me bright and early this morning.)
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